Giving it my gall!

For the past 18 years I have relied on physical activity to help me work through life. Be it stress, anxiety, worry, anger, fear, being upset, feeling “off”….And, not just for giving me a boost when I’m not feeling at my best…but also to SUPERCHARGE myself! When I’m feeling good it feels awesome to burn energy! To run, to play, to dance, to test my strength and my limits! To grow! So, needless to say, the last month has been a challenge. Not that I’ve not ever been taken out of being active before. In 2010, I fractured my sacrum after falling off a horse; and was limited in my activity. But, I grew through that.

But, this year, on March 1, I subluxed my shoulder and tore my labrum and joint capsule (In simple speak, it means my shoulder came out of its joint and went back in on its own accord). It hurt like HELL! I was talking with a girlfriend who subluxed her shoulder playing softball.  She likened the pain to childbirth. She’s had two kids. She’s a PT. The girl knows what she’s talking about. So, with a bum shoulder, I was limited in my activity; and while definitely disappointed and frustrated, I kept my spirits high by repeating to myself, “Do what you can, with where you’re at, with what you have.” I was able to dance, speed walk, ride the bike! Lots of things! So…my physical outlet was at least being addressed.

Then came March 20^th where I had to have my gall bladder removed.  Seriously, March came in AND left like a lion!  I went through laproscopic surgery and it’s now been 3.5 weeks post surgery and day by day I’m progressing marvelously!  I’m going to start slowly jogging this week. But, the first couple of weeks were rough. For anybody who tells you that laproscopic surgery is a piece of cake and they’re back into action the next day…that’s awesome for them! But, that wasn’t the case for me.  I know that surgery is physically and emotionally impactful. And, having a few friends reiterate that, and purposefully check in on me to see how things are going, and specifically asking “how are you doing emotionally?” really does speak to that universality. It also speaks to the fact that I have awesome friends!

Anywho, having the gall bladder surgery on top of the shoulder injury felt like adding salt to the wound. With being further laid up, I was really bummed. Nothing puts you down a peg or two than realizing that it’s a challenge and painful to get in and out of bed and doing anything that requires any amount of bending.   

I did however, have positive news in that I don’t have to have shoulder surgery  (always get a second opinion)! So, my spirits were uplifted in knowing that my thoughts and being receptive of and knowing that others were sending healing thoughts to me were working!

And, this gets to the whole point of this post. I’m a huge believer in the Law of Attraction. That’s not to say that being a Pollyanna is easy or that I’m not prone to focusing on the negative sometimes.  But, what this whole last month of restricted physical activity has taught me is that I need to work on my mental well-being as much as my physical well-being. I’m a believer in the health and well-being of us in the whole sense: mind, body, spirit. And, I thought I was doing a pretty good job, in that over the course of late January through March, I’d gotten back into a routine of meditating and writing in my gratitude journal.  Both things that in the last few years, have made a tremendous positive impact in my life.

Our minds are powerful. We tell ourselves SO many things throughout the day.  I read somewhere that we have about 30,000 thoughts per day; and that for most of us, 50% of those are negative! Are you satisfied with that?! I’m not! I want to bend that trend and train myself with positive expectation!  Here’s something really fun and mindboggling to think about.  Our minds don’t know the difference between actually doing something and if we just believe and think we are doing something!  What we say to ourselves manifests. How many times are you thinking in “no’s. I can’ts, should, I’ll try’s, maybes?”

I love working with my clients on reframing; on using positive affirmations; on  helping them to feel empowered and believe in themselves. Because SO much of behavior change lies within our own minds! I’m always pairing workouts with You Can! You Are! It is! And, not letting the small things derail us from our overall goals.  Whether we think we can or we can’t; we’re right. Our self-talk matters.  That’s worth repeating. Our self-talk matters!

Turns out this coach needed a booster shot in practicing what I preach.

So, for the last three weeks, I’ve used all of the time that I would usually take to work out to do mental calisthenics. I’ve not only meditated 2x/day;  logged daily gratitude journaling sessions; but I’m also working on identifying and busting through my own mental limitations. Working on letting ME shine through. Working on focusing on the positive! Working on always believing that something wonderful is about to happen! Believing and feeling that everything good is coming my way! Coming into alignment with my true being.

Not to say that I was being an Eeyore before. But, sometimes, we get stuck in mental ruts, where we lose faith in our abilities. Where we start to doubt; or get focused on the thing that isn’t going right instead of looking at and appreciating what’s going wonderful!  Where we forget that we’re here to have fun, to shine, to be amazingingly us and enjoy life!

And, just like working out physically, working on our mental and emotional strength takes the same type of dedication and commitment.  I consider myself agnostic; but to put it simply, it’s about praying when things are going good, just as much as we pray for things when they’re going bad. It’s about making our thoughts and our mindset our priorities. It’s about retraining our minds to look for the good. It’s about disciplining ourselves to meditate, to turn inwards, and stretch and strengthen our minds. Just like working out, it feels better the longer we do it! It feels awesome and we start to crave it! It makes a tangible difference! As the spring is upon us, I LOVE this analogy: What we think about grows. Are you planting seeds or are you planting weeds? I definitely want to be planting seeds of flowers and awesomeness!

So, as my body is doing a spectacular job of healing itself. I’m making it my own personal health and wellness goal to commit just as much time to my mental strength and creating positive thoughts and an abundant mindset as I do my physical strength and endurance.

I was inspired last night by a speaker to “Live Life Out Loud!” – So, as I’m starting my next Body By Vi 90 Fitness Challenge;  I’m going to be incorporating the mental aspect; and sharing with you my plans, thoughts, resources, and really everything that comes into play building the best me I can be!  

I hope you’ll join me: train your body! Train your brain!